Militarization leads to a “warrior cop” mentality.As a 2014 ACLU report explains, militarization of the police encourages a ‘warrior’ mentality where officers act like soldiers and begin to think of the people they are supposed to serve as their enemies. This creates an “us against them” mentality that undermines positive community-police relationsand goes against Nashville police’s own code of ethics that requires officers to “serve the community” and to protect “the weak against oppression.” It sends the message that police lives are more valuable than those they serve in the community.

2015 was the safest year ever for police nationwide.More police die in traffic accidents, or by accidental poisoning, or other causes, than being killed by civilians each year. Though policing is often thought of as a uniquely dangerous occupation, it is not even in the top ten most unsafe professions. If the Mayor wants to provide more funding and protection to the police, then she should be prepared to offer the same to other workers whose jobs are more dangerous, and yet who get paid less and have fewer benefits including farmers, roofers, truck drivers.

Nashville MNPD is not under threat. According to a website tracking police deaths, the last Nashville Metro police officer to be killed by gunfire was in 1996. Metro Nashville’s Police Chief Steven Anderson has himself stated “This job [policing] has some danger associated with it. But, in fact, it’s a very safe job compared to maybe other jobs.” He has also boasted that the relations between police officers and local activists in Nashville “set an example for the nation.”

On the other hand, Nashville’s residents are more likely to need protection from the police. Nashville Metro police shot and killed two men last year in 2015, one with a mental illness and one holding a toy gun. We also have existing data that show that MNPD demonstrates racial disparities in policing and arrests, arresting African-Americans at nearly three times the rate of others. According to a Metro Human Relations Commission report, community members expressed concerns about racial bias in policing and requested a civilian review board to hold the police accountable at the REAL: Nashville Dialogue on race, equity, and leadership on July 23, 2016.

We ask that Metro Council and Mayor Barry NOT vote to spend over $1 million on police militarization. If the mayor is interested in improving police-community relations, we suggest 1) offering reparations to victims of police violence and their families 2) requiring police officers to carry personal liability insurance to cover costs of brutality or death claims 3) electing an independent civilian police accountability board with power to investigate, discipline, and fire police officers and administrators, and 4) collecting more comprehensive data on police stops, arrests, budgeting, weapons, etc.

About Us

SURJ Nashville, a chapter of the national Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) network, is a group of individuals organizing white people for racial justice in Middle Tennessee. Through education, outreach, and mobilization, SURJ Nashville’s mission and purpose are: (1) to call white people into the work of unlearning racism and white supremacy that operates in personal attitudes and relationships; (2) to call white people into the work of divesting from and dismantling racism and white supremacy that operates within systems and institutions; (3) to create spaces of learning, accountability, and transformation for people seeking to engage in the work outlined above; and (4) to support local, statewide, regional, and national people of color (POC) led movements for racial and social justice.